Aldi Olive Oil Price: What You Get for the Money
If you have searched the Aldi olive oil price, you are almost certainly doing one of two things: checking whether Aldi is the cheapest place to fill your kitchen bottle, or wondering whether a sub-£6 oil can really be any good after the prices everywhere went a little mad. Both are fair questions. Aldi has built a genuine reputation for olive oil that punches above its price, and in a market that has been turbulent for three years, "what does it cost" has become a more interesting question than it used to be. This article lays out what Aldi's oils actually cost, why olive oil got expensive in the first place, and how to judge whether a price — any price — is good value.
For our own oil, see our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil.
The Short Answer
- Aldi sells olive oil across two tiers: the entry-level Solesta range and the higher-quality Specially Selected range, including a PDO Castel del Monte extra virgin oil from Puglia.
- The Specially Selected Castel del Monte has been widely praised for value — commended by Which? and named the Independent's best budget supermarket olive oil in 2025 — at around half the price of comparable boutique oils.
- Olive oil prices across all UK retailers rose steeply from 2023 to 2025 after poor Mediterranean harvests, and retail prices have been slow to come back down even as wholesale costs fell.
- A low shelf price is not the same as poor quality, and a high one is not a guarantee of good oil. Price tells you very little on its own.
- What actually matters is freshness, the harvest date, whether the oil is a single origin or a blend, and how traceable it is.
- Sidr & Stone's olive oil is a single-estate, rain-fed, organically grown oil from one family grove outside Marrakech — a different proposition from a blended supermarket oil, and currently on pre-order.
What Aldi Olive Oil Actually Costs
Aldi's olive oil sits in two broad tiers. The everyday option is the Solesta line — a straightforward extra virgin olive oil aimed at the lowest sensible price point. Above it sits the Specially Selected range, which is where Aldi has earned most of its praise. The standout is the Specially Selected Terra di Bari Castel del Monte Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) oil from the Puglia region of southern Italy, typically sold in a 500ml bottle for a little over £5.
That oil has done well in independent testing. Which? gave it a Great Value endorsement, and in 2025 the Independent named the PDO Castel del Monte the best budget supermarket olive oil — beating costlier bottles from other supermarkets in tasting. We are not going to pretend otherwise: as a value-for-money supermarket oil, Aldi's offering is genuinely good, and the recognition is deserved. If your aim is a decent everyday extra virgin oil for cooking and dressing at the lowest reasonable price, Aldi is a sensible place to look.
The honest caveat is that supermarket prices move. Olive oil has been one of the most volatile grocery items of the past few years, so the exact figure on the shelf when you read this may differ from the figure above. The tiers, though — a basic line and a better Specially Selected line — tend to hold.
Why Olive Oil Got So Expensive — and Why the Prices Are Confusing
To understand any olive oil price in 2026, you have to understand what happened to the harvests. Spain produces roughly 44 per cent of the world's olive oil, and in 2022 and 2023 it had a punishing run of heat and drought — 2023 brought the country's hottest summer on record, and output fell sharply. Other Mediterranean producers, including Greece, had difficult harvests of their own. When the world's biggest supplier loses a large slice of its crop, wholesale prices climb everywhere, and retail follows.
The confusing part is what happened next. Wholesale costs have eased considerably since the peak, but retail prices have been slow to follow. Industry figures have been blunt about it — one olive oil director publicly accused supermarkets of "taking the mickey" with the prices customers were still being asked to pay despite falling underlying costs. A 500ml bottle of one well-known brand that sold for under £4 in 2022 peaked at around £10.50 in early 2025 and, even after coming down, still sat well above its old price. Retail prices, as a rule, follow wholesale costs up far faster than they come back down.
The practical point for a shopper is this: a low price today is not necessarily a bargain, and a high one is not necessarily a rip-off. The whole category has been re-priced, and the headline figure tells you less than it once did.
Price Is Not the Same as Value: What You Are Actually Buying
It is tempting, when oil is expensive, to treat the lowest number as the win. But two bottles at the same price can be very different products, and the difference rarely shows on the front label. A few things matter far more than the price itself.
Freshness and harvest date. Olive oil is not like wine; it does not improve with age. Its polyphenols — the antioxidant compounds that give good extra virgin oil its character and much of its studied value — degrade over time and with exposure to heat and light. An oil pressed last season and stored well is a better oil than a cheaper one that has been sitting in clear glass under shop lights for eighteen months. A harvest date on the bottle is one of the most useful things you can look for.
Single origin versus blend. Most supermarket oils, including good ones, are blends — drawn from many groves and sometimes many countries to hit a consistent flavour and a target price. That is a legitimate way to make oil, and it is how the category keeps prices down. A single-estate oil, by contrast, comes from one grove with one set of growing conditions, and it is fully traceable to that source. Neither is automatically "better", but they are not the same thing, and they should not cost the same.
Traceability. The more steps between the olive and your bottle, the more you are trusting the label rather than the source. For a fuller walkthrough of what separates a good oil from a forgettable one, see our guide to choosing a quality olive oil.
How to Judge an Olive Oil Beyond the Shelf Price
If you take the price tag off the decision, a handful of checks will serve you well in any shop, Aldi included.
Look for "extra virgin" stated plainly — it is a defined grade, not marketing. Look for a harvest or pressing date, not just a best-before. Favour dark glass over clear bottles or tins you cannot see into, because light is one of the things that degrades the oil. Where the label tells you a specific origin — a region, a PDO, a single country rather than the catch-all "produce of EU and non-EU countries" — that is more information, and more information is usually a good sign. And if you can, taste it: fresh, well-made extra virgin oil should be fruity, with a peppery catch at the back of the throat, which is the polyphenols you are paying for.
None of this requires spending more. Aldi's Castel del Monte ticks several of these boxes, which is precisely why it reviews well. The point is that the checks, not the price, are what tell you what you are getting.
Why Sidr & Stone
Sidr & Stone did not set out to win on price, and this article is not an argument that we are cheaper than Aldi — we are a different kind of product, and we would rather be honest about that than pretend a single-estate oil and a value blend are the same purchase. What we offer is traceability and care, stated plainly:
- Single-estate — one family-owned grove on the plains outside Marrakech, Morocco, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed — no irrigation; the trees take what the season gives them.
- Organically grown — without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, or herbicides.
- Single harvest — a small, limited batch, picked only when the season says the fruit is ready, sometimes weeks later than neighbouring farms.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest — to protect flavour, aroma, and polyphenols.
- Unfiltered extra virgin — minimally processed, and it may show a little natural sediment, which is normal.
- 100% natural — one ingredient, nothing added.
- Dark glass — protective packaging against light.
- Halal certified, with 10% of profits going to charity.
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
We will not tell you Sidr & Stone is the best olive oil — that would be the very kind of claim this article warns against. What we will say is that our oil is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown, and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, and that the evidence of that care is in the colour, the taste, and the small size of the season's batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Aldi olive oil?
Aldi's entry-level Solesta extra virgin olive oil is among the cheapest on the market, while its better Specially Selected Castel del Monte PDO oil has typically sold for a little over £5 for 500ml. Supermarket prices move, so check the current shelf figure.
Is Aldi olive oil good quality?
For a supermarket oil, yes — the Specially Selected Castel del Monte has been commended by Which? and named the Independent's best budget supermarket olive oil. It is a genuinely good value blend, which is a different thing from a single-estate oil.
Why has olive oil gone up in price so much?
Severe drought and heat across the Mediterranean, especially in Spain, cut harvests sharply from 2022 onwards. Wholesale prices have since eased, but retail prices across all supermarkets have been slow to come back down.
Is cheaper olive oil worse?
Not automatically. Price on its own tells you very little. Freshness, harvest date, origin, and whether the oil is a single source or a blend matter far more than the figure on the front of the bottle.
How is Sidr & Stone olive oil different from supermarket olive oil?
Most supermarket oils are blends drawn from many groves to hit a consistent price and flavour. Sidr & Stone is a single-estate oil from one family grove near Marrakech — rain-fed, organically grown, and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, fully traceable to its source.
What should I look for on an olive oil label?
Look for "extra virgin", a harvest or pressing date rather than just a best-before, dark glass, and a specific stated origin. If you can taste it, a fresh, peppery, fruity oil is a good sign.
Where can I buy single-estate olive oil?
Single-estate oils are usually bought direct from the producer or a specialist, rather than off a general supermarket shelf. Sidr & Stone's single-estate Marrakech olive oil is available to pre-order now, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
If the question is "what is the Aldi olive oil price", the honest answer is that Aldi offers some of the best value extra virgin oil on a supermarket shelf, and its Specially Selected Castel del Monte deserves the praise it gets. We are happy to say so plainly. If you want a reliable everyday oil at the lowest sensible price, that is a perfectly good answer.
But the past three years have shown how little the headline price really tells you. The whole category was re-priced by drought, and the cheapest bottle today is not always the best buy, just as the dearest is not always worth it. The more useful questions are about freshness, origin, and traceability — what you are actually getting for whatever you pay.
That is the gap a single-estate oil is meant to fill. Our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil — rain-fed, organically grown, and pressed within hours of harvest from a single family grove — is a different proposition from a value blend, and it is available to pre-order now, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Pre-Order Sidr & Stone Organic Marrakech Olive Oil — Limited First Harvest →
Disclaimer: This article describes olive oil products and supermarket pricing at the time of writing; prices, ranges, and brand practices may change, and readers should check current sources. References to Aldi describe general retail observations and are not affiliated with or endorsed by Aldi. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.
